ECM vs. ECM Manufacture

Since we’re fairly vocal proponents of Rocket Espresso, we often have older models produced by the previous manufacturer, ECM, coming into our repair center for tune-ups, parts replacements and general repairs.

A couple of weeks ago, we had an older ECM Giotto come in for a seemingly simple repair, but it spiraled into the mire once we realized that this wasn’t just any Giotto we were dealing with: It was an ECM Manufacture Giotto. Apparently, the German company was a distributor of the Giotto and the Cellini products, eventually deciding to bring the production of these machines in house. Despite facing legal action from the Italian ECM company, the German company built and distributed their version of the machine for some time — the external design very reminiscent of the original machine, and with the ECM Giotto or Cellini name badges on the machine. A few years ago, they spun off the machines under their own names — like Technika, Barista or Mechanika — so now it’s easy to tell the difference between these machines. You can also look at the ECM logo itself to determine if you have a German or Italian produced model: The ECM Manufacture machines reference Heidelberg instead of Milan.

If you have an older version of an ECM Giotto or Cellini that you purchased in Germany, keep in mind that the internals and parts for the German-produced versions of the machines are not the same as the original Italian versions. Before having the machine repaired, make sure who you’re working with has access to the ECM Manufacture-specific parts. We poked around to see if we could find anyone who sells or has parts for these and, as of this writing, we weren’t able to find anyone who imports these models into the US.

3 thoughts on “ECM vs. ECM Manufacture”

Is it just the Cellini and the Giotto? I have a Botticelli (one without the analog temperature meter), how can I tell the difference between the two ECM machines? How will I know if it’s Italian or German?

What does the ECM logo on your machine look like? Usually the logo is the easiest way to tell if you have an Italian (ECM) or German (ECM Manufacture) produced model. If you have a ECM Manufacture machine, the logo will look like the one pictured in this blog post and reference Heidelberg, while the logo of an ECM machine will reference Milan. I hope that helps!